Summary :
Objective: The aim of this work is to describe the ENT clinical manifestations by which HIV positive patients inaugurate their AIDS-illness and to classify these manifestations in respect to the biological state of the infection. Material and method: It was a multicenter, prospective study carried out in the ENT services of Yaounde (Cameroon), between the period of september 2000 and june 2002. Included in this study were HIV patients who started their AIDS with an ENT illness. The stage of evolution of the HIV infection was evaluated using the CD4 and CD8 T lymphocyte counts. This was carried out using the Flux cytometric technique of Fascount/Becton. Results: We thereafter recruited 76 patients. The incidence rate of ENT early manifestations in HIV positive patients was 11.5%. Pharyngeal and oral candidosis represented the most observed manifestation (30.60%), followed by peripheral facial paralysis (11.13%) and rhino-sinusitis (10.58%). Parotid gland hypertrophy represented 8.23% of the affections. Persistant cervical lymphadenopathy was observed in 7.05% of cases. Kaposi sarcoma and cervical lymph node tuberculosis represented each 3.53% of cases of the sample. The correlation of lymphocytic count and initial ENT manifestations showed that these manifestations were observed in all the biological states of the HIV/AIDS infection. Conclusion: the above mentioned ENT manifestations in the patient should motivate the request of the HIV screening tests.